A School Committee Member WantsTo Raise Your Taxes

From: Kathi Yergin [kril62@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 11:25 AM
To: Michael Bowie; Roger Cote; Dale Crafts; Fern Larochelle; Mark Lunt; Gina Mason; Lori Pomelow
Cc: Steve Eldridge
Subject: Budget

Well I am writing to you all!   I cannot believe you would send someone back (Town Manager) and tell them you want a zero percent budget.  Have you seen how many businesses have gone out of business?  Do you think about the children's future?  And what about the employees of our town and teachers?  Let's face it, you as council have just cut alot of jobs asking such an impossible task.  Times are tough -  its time to raise taxes.  Lisbon has done it before and they can always lower them back again, just like in the past.  I am a tax payer, who's husband has no job or I myself.  We have three children still in school and I can see what is going to happen with the school.  It is scary, so scary that these are the children who will be taking care of you in the future.   Do not do what you did last year with the school budget, that was (hate to say it) pathetic, telling the school board to cut more when taxes would not have been raised, you had the option to stop from going back to the polls.  Majority of people that go to the polls do not even know what they are voting on, and even people in your crowd at meetings are only out for their own agenda.  It's sad. It's awful.  I watch Mr. Cote look for approval from members of the audition, I am new to these meetings and I see this.   All I can say is do the right thing.  The seniors who spend every evening at McDonald's can give up two cups of coffee a week, or the others at Dunkin Donuts.  Or the couples who go to breakfast every Sunday could give up one.  I hear people complain how they cannot afford a tax increase, well they have the money to go out. Some are able to travel to Florida and back.  2 mil for a year or two is not going to send the average tax payer like myself over the edge.  For the seniors who got no increase this year, I am sorry, but my family has no income, atleast the seniors income did not change.  People working have not had any increase in years because their insurance premiums go up.    I am willing to pay more taxes to support my children and my town.  If you cannot help this town during this awful time, you should not stay in office.  Mr. Cote speaks about having a town meeting, really what is that going to do for a town that is falling apart?   Please help this town for the coming year, raise the taxes!!!  When things look good and you keep the budget tight, give the tax payers a break and lower in a few years.  You can do this, its been done before.  And our schools, municpal buildings all are following apart  or need repair because the buck is passed on each year.  So five years later it costs even more!   So that is my email to each and everyone of you.  Work together, keep our town running the way it should.  People will not move here if the school system is no good, and if our town cannot run correctly their will be nothing in town.   Thanks for listening.   Kathi Yergin Tax Payer